A/N - Annnnnndddd done. Another chapter in. I would've posted this one sooner, but my computer went dark on me and I had to take it in to get it fixed. But I'm back now and ready to upload again. I do plan on the chapters being a little longer than some of the previous ones so I only ask that you remain patient. Thanks for all the support you've given me, you guys rock!
Sam sat still, as Cole talked to Director Davis alone in his office. He contemplated what they were discussing, as well as what Davis wanted to discuss with Sam. After a few minutes, the door to his office opened and Cole walked out.
"I softened him up for you," Cole joked while Sam stood up and walked in.
"Thank you for seeing me Sam, if you could so kindly close the door," he asked from a seated position behind a desk. Sam closed the door and gave the director his undivided attention.
"I understand that you helped lead the assault on Curdun Cay?"
"Yes sir," Sam replied sharply.
"Both agent Sampson and your sister speak highly of your resolve," Davis added.
"If it's a job offer, I refuse," Sam spoke bluntly. Davis looked surprise.
"Is that because of Bentley's secrecy… or Lucy Kuo?" Davis asked.
"I don't have to say anything to you. All you care about is conducting tests and experiments on living people," Sam accused. Davis sighed.
"Once upon a time, we were interested in one thing, the advancement of our understanding of the human body. We believed that people could do the impossible: heal faster, be immune to diseases… live longer, healthier lives," Davis began, "When Kessler came to us, saying he had the answers, we listened… skeptically. Though, the longer he spoke, the saner he sounded. We went along with his project and when it was done… that's when the line was drawn."
"It took the destruction of an entire city to realize this was wrong?" Sam asked condescendingly.
"We didn't know what was happening until it was too late. Some of us fought back but, with Kessler's conduits, there was nothing we could do, except help the government take them down," Davis explained.
"John?" Sam assumed. Davis nodded.
"We gave him as much information as we could. Test results, blueprints, everything. But it still wasn't enough. He still activated the Ray Sphere."
"Look what happened next, Cole stopped Kessler," Sam mentioned.
"But at what cost? So many died. Many of which were close friends and family," Davis sighed.
"I see what you're trying to do, and it's not working," Sam interrupted. Davis chuckled.
"Sampson was right. You're a lot smarter than you look. You're right to be cautious, but we're not the enemy here," Davis argued.
"Then what are you? What is this place?" Sam asked.
"This is part of my three-phase program. Phase 1 is to gather conduits to help oversee Phase 2," Davis began, "And once again, we very much appreciate your help in that."
"And Phase 2?" Sam asked.
"Phase 2 is to train the conduits," Davis answered, "We provide a basic foundation on which these conduits can survive during Phase 3."
"And Phase 3?" Sam asked hesitantly. Davis sighed.
"Phase 3 is a… a 'what-if' scenario. Due to recent events, the government is having a hard time believing that conduits can live peacefully with humans," Davis explained.
"War? That's your answer?" Sam asked skeptically.
"If it comes to that, we want to make sure they're ready," Davis argued.
"So, you force conduits to stay here, train them to become soldiers, and send them to fight the US government?"
"We're not forcing them to do anything. They can leave whenever they want. Here, they have food, shelter, and protection," Davis countered. Sam stood up.
"Please Sam, we could use someone like you," Davis pleaded.
"I'm tired of being used," Sam snapped while walking out of the office. As the door closed, Davis sighed and put his head in his hands. A few moments later, a knock was heard on his door.
"Come in!" he called out. The door opened and Alex walked in. She saw his face and immediately knew what happened.
"He said no, didn't he?" she asked.
"He's even more stubborn than you are," he joked.
"I'll see if I can talk to him when I get the chance," she replied, "In the meantime, everything's ready for the test."
"Good, go grab Sebastian and Ashton," he ordered.
"I still have to say that I'm not completely comfortable with this. Bentley seemed very intent on keeping these two separated," she thought aloud.
"I understand your concern, but we have to know if it could actually work," Davis argued, "If Augustine's project proves fruitless, Sampson has no reason to worry."
"Very well sir, I'll proceed with the tests."
"Excellent, let me know of the results immediately," he ordered.
"Yes sir," she replied before walking out. In their room, Delsin sat still as Fetch stood up and opened the door.
"You're right," he spoke. Fetch stopped. "I'm not alone, I never was. It's just, when I lost my parents, I felt like I lost Reggie too." Fetch closed the door.
"I understand that, that feeling of being alone, but we're all here to help each other, you know that right?" she asked while saying sitting back down. Delsin sat quiet before saying something.
"You're cute when you care," he teased.
"And he's back," she sighed before chuckling, "Should we go meet some of the conduits we rescued?" Delsin nodded, and they both left the room and headed to the community area they passed earlier. Once there, they were greeted by a multitude of conduits, many of which turned their heads immediately towards their saviors. They started muttering among themselves aas everyone else turned in that direction. Then, one by one, they started clapping with smiles plastered on their faces.
In turn, Fetch and Delsin smiled as they walked towards the large group. They started cheering and thanking their saviors as they walked through the crowd. Eventually, Fetch and Delsin found themselves lost in the sea of people. However, one voice seemed to stick out from the crowd.
"Excuse me! Excuse me, savior of Curdun Cay coming through," TJ called as he snaked through the crowd to reach the other two.
"TJ!" Delsin called back as the applause began to die down.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up."
"How have you been? Are they treating you okay?" Delsin asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, a little too social for my tastes but I can't complain," TJ answered.
"Well, would you look at that?" spoke Fetch, motioning towards something in the distance. Looking in that direction, Delsin saw Ryan and Eugene surrounded by a small group of people listening intently.
"Eugene has a fan club?" Delsin asked.
"Come on," she said before nudging him on the shoulder and walking towards them. Once in earshot, they heard Ryan in the middle of a story.
"— and this building was literally about to fall on top of us. So I grabbed her hand and we bolted out the window with the guys still inside. I turn around, place my hand on the ground, and whoosh! This quake races to the building and the whole thing collapses on top of them."
"Then what?" asked a curious conduit.
"Well, we scrounged up some money, made a few bus trips and sneaked into the city," he answered.
"That's crazy," the same conduit replied.
"Yeah, a little too crazy," commented a second conduit.
"Give him a break Lynn," he pleaded.
"I can't believe this," Lynn replied before rolling her eyes.
"I liked it," Fetch butted in.
"Oh hey guys," Ryan greeted.
"Hey Ryan, hey Eugene," Delsin greeted in return.
Eugene waved his hand in response.
"I see you've been making friends," Fetch mocked. The other conduits laughed.
"Hey man, we gotta' go, it was nice meeting you," a third conduit announced to Ryan as all but two left the group.
"Guys, meet Mark and… uh…" Ryan spoke while sarcastically snapping his fingers towards Lynn. She rolled her eyes once more.
"Name's Lynn," she introduced while shaking hands with Fetch and Delsin.
"And you're Mark?" Delsin asked while extending his hand towards him.
"Yeah, Mark Blade," he greeted while completing the exchange, "Thanks for what you guys did."
"Well, it wasn't just us, TJ here helped too," Delsin added while motioning for him to join the circle.
"Thanks TJ," Mark added.
"Eh, you know," he replied. Delsin chuckled.
"Wait we're missing someone," Delsin remembered.
"Yeah, goody-two-shoes Ashton," TJ reminded.
"Where is he?" Delsin asked.
"No idea, some lady in a suit took him away."
"What? Why?"
"No clue, said it was classified."
Meanwhile
"If you could just step inside Mr. Pryce," Alex asked kindly while opening a door. The room past it could only be described as an interrogation room. There was a metal table and two chairs in the center of it. To his right, a large mirror took up most of the wall, and Ashton could only assume it was a one-way mirror. He sat down in one of the cold chairs as Alex sat in the other.
"Might I ask you to remove your sunglasses?" Alex asked politely. He had forgotten he was wearing them. Ashton tried his best to not stand out by covering up his glowing white eyes. He removed them and slowly, his eyes adjusted to the brightness in the room.
"Thank you, I want you to know that you're not in any trouble. I just want to ask you questions," she assured.
"Alright," Ash spoke calmly.
"While in Curdun Cay, how often did you interact with Brooke Augustine?"
"Not often at all, I think she visited my cell four, maybe five times while I was there. The only visits I got were from the staff," he answered.
"What about Sebastian Wong? Does that name mean anything to you?" Alex continued.
"Not at all, never heard of him. Why, who is he?"
"He's a conduit who was imprisoned there," she answered.
"I never interacted with any of the other conduits."
Alex sat back in her chair and sighed. She looked at the mirror and back at Ashton.
"What do you know about the Yin-Yang project?" she asked.
"They don't tell us anything, "I don't know Sebastian, I don't know what this project is, I don't know anything."
Alex sighed once more before looking at the mirror and nodding. She stood up as the door opened and another individual walked in. He was tall, and had light brown eyes. His dark brown hair went about hallway down his neck.
"What's going on?" Ashton asked.
"Ashton Pryce, meet Sebastian Wong," she greeted, "He got the chat we just had and told us the same things."
"Does that mean you're gonna' tell us what this project is?" Sebastian asked.
"Augustine had a theory," she began, "She believed that you two could help each other with your powers. She called it Project Yin-Yang."
"What do you mean help?" Ashton asked.
"You can manipulate light, Sebastian can manipulate shadows. Augustine believed that you could feed each other, for a lack of a better word," she explained. Ashton and Sebastian looked at each other.
"Look up, do you see the light?" Alex asked. Ashton nodded.
"Drain it." Doing what he was told, he held his hand up and the light left the bulb and flew into his hand. The room was plunged into darkness.
"You're turn Sebastian," Alex motioned. What happened next could only be described as unnatural. Slowly, the room began to brighten as an amorphous black cloud flew into Sebastian's hand. The room was left with a strange glow that seemed to lack a source. All three of them were shocked.
"Ashton?" Alex motioned. He nodded and held out his hand once more. As before, the ambient light began to lessen as the strange glow was absorbed by Ashton. Sebastian then repeated the same process and the room was lit once again.
"Well I'll be damned."
A/N - Quick shout-out to rmarcano321! I love your character, Sarah Skygge, unfortunately I am unable to feature her in this story due to her power. Sebastian was the first conduit I received with this ability and for the sake of continuity, I can't introduce another conduit with these powers. I do however appreciate your thoughts in the comments and your admiration of the lore of the inFamous universe. It's that excitement and appreciation that I like to see in my readers. If you would like to resubmit your character with another power or possibly another character, please do. Don't expect these to be the only ones featured, make sure to keep reading and you might see yours. For a basic template, check out my story "OC Emergency". You can then comment your idea in this story, "OC Emergency" or via PM. Thanks for sticking with me.